Too Hard to Wait: Post Startrain Oneshot
by LunettePendragon
Summary: It's been hard for Adrien to hold in the fact he believed Marinette and Ladybug to be one-in-the-same, but when belief turns into unmistakable fact, Adren can't hold back any longer. One-shot. Adrienette fluff. POST-STAR TRAIN! SPOILERS!


**Spoiler Warning: Post Star Train**

**Just a little one-shot of Adrienette fluff because, seriously, DID YOU SEE THE WAY HE LOOKED AT HER!? Anyway, hope you enjoy. I'll be updating my other stories soon.**

Adrien reached for the buzzing phone. It was Alya. He smiled as he opened the picture of him with Marinette dozing on his shoulder. Leaning back in his desk chair, he typed out a quick thanks. A while back, he had pressured Nino into confirming that Marinette had a crush on him. To spare Nino's life, he had talked to Alya directly shortly afterwords.

As far as his friends knew, Adrien was also crushing on Marinette. He had been careful to explain that he didn't want Marinette finding out. She was extremely shy about her feelings and he wanted to wait until she was ready before saying anything. Alya almost cried when she saw how much he cared about her best friend and was more than willing to help in any way that she could.

Of course, what they didn't know was that Adrien was Chat Noir. And Marinette...well...he was pretty darn sure she was his lady.

Adrien couldn't recall exactly when he had first thought that his shy classmate could possibly be the brave Ladybug, but the thought never left him alone afterward. He saw the signs everywhere now. From her dark pigtails and freckles to her laugh and awkward hand movements when she was lying.

Today, Adrien had gotten the final sign. As soon as Ladybug emerged out of the bathroom, he knew that she had been on the train. Her lie about using the horse miraculous hadn't fooled him. Then, when they had addressed the class, Adrien was quick to note Marinette was missing.

Yes, Marinette was Ladybug. And she adored him. A small smiley face appeared on the phone as Alya texted him again. Sighing, he clicked the phone off and put it back on the desk. He turned his attention back to his Chinese assignment, but he couldn't focus.

All he could think about was Marinette. He had been honest when he had told Alya that he wanted to wait until she was ready. He still did, but the waiting was getting to him. Especially now that he had confirmed his suspicion.

Suddenly, his computer beeped as a news alert flashed across the bottom of the screen. Clicking on it, he saw that there was an akuma attack near the Eiffel Tower.

"Plagg," he whined, seeing who had been akumatized, "Mr. Rat is at it again."

"Well, at least you get to see _your lady _again," Plagg teased as he emerged from the couch, scarfing down the last of his cheese. Adrien rolled his eyes. So far, he had managed to keep his knowledge of Ladybug's true identity a secret from the black kwami, but he felt sure that Plagg was going to catch on soon enough.

"Plagg, claws out."

*****A Little While Later*****

"Pound it," Chat Noir said in unison with Ladybug as their fists met. As usual, taking down Mr. Rat was a piece of cake that didn't even require a lucky charm or cataclysm.

Chat watched as Ladybug went over to talk to Mr. Ramier. He smiled as she comforted him. It truly was remarkable how he had gone for so long not knowing she was really Marinette. Mr. Ramier nodded to whatever Ladybug was saying and gave her smile. Glancing over at Chat, the man waved his thanks before taking off.

"Good work, milady," Chat said as Ladybug walked back over to him.

"You too, Chat," she said, smiling. "I don't know about you, but I desperately need some sleep!"

"A quick cat-nap would be nice," he said with a grin. She narrowed her eyes, but otherwise ignored his pun. "But, honestly, can I talk to you for a moment? Alone?"

"Sure, Chat," she said, glancing around at the crowd taking pictures of them. She waved politely. "Regular spot?"

"Sounds good," he said, extending his staff for his departure. They had found a decent rooftop of an abandoned building away from the busy areas of Paris. They had met there on several occasions to talk and it had become a regular meeting place for them. "I'll see you there."

He let his staff carry him into the air as he took off towards the designated spot. Normally, he would have traveled alongside Ladybug, but he felt the need to collect his thoughts. He didn't know what he was going to say, but he couldn't wait anymore. He wasn't going to be able to hold this secret in.

When he arrived, he sat down and stared out towards the setting sun. It was a rather romantic view, now that he thought about it. The previous times they had met there, it was to discuss Hawkmoth and the occasional miraculous holder. Tonight, however, was personal.

Ladybug arrived and sat down next to him. They sat in silence as Chat pondered what to say. Ladybug eventually broke the silence, forcing him to start talking.

"Cat got your tongue?" she asked as she jabbed him with an elbow.

"Very funny, milady." he muttered, normally delighted when she made a cat pun.

"Come on, Chat. What's bothering you?" she asked. He looked over at her. Ladybug's eyes were filled with concern and worry.

"Milady, it...it isn't anything _bad_. It's just...I need to...to say something." Chat couldn't believe how shaky his voice sounded. As he stumbled through the thought, he couldn't help but wonder if this was how Marinette felt when she was speaking to Adrien. "But I don't know how to say it."

"Chat, it's me. You can tell me anything. You know that." Chat felt his heart melting into her bluebell eyes. This was his lady, but it was also Marinette. Marinette who wanted to be with him as badly as he wanted to be with her.

"I want to tell you who I am." The words flew out of him with a burst of certainty, knowing that he couldn't wait anymore.

"Chat, we've talked about this," Ladybug said, her eyes filling with disappointment.

"I know, but just hear me out please?" he begged. Ladybug sighed and then nodded, giving him the green light to continue.

"Milady, let's be honest. We were both on that train today." He stated, Ladybug opened her mouth to argue, but he raised a finger to her lips. "You are a terrible liar."

"Ok, fine," she said, pushing his hand away. "What's your point?"

"That we might know each other. We might even be friends."

"So? We still can't know each other's identities, Chat!"

"What if..." he hesitated, not sure that this was the right thing to do, but he couldn't think of another way to move this along. "What if I'm the boy you like? The one you're always talking about?"

A cold silence fell between them and Chat watched as Ladybug's mind seemed to spin in circles. Suddenly, she shook her head.

"Impossible," she argued simply. "I know that he can't be you."

"You never know," Chat grinned internally, knowing she was wrong. "But, just for a moment, say that I am. It would mean we like each other, but we might never figure it out."

"Chat."

"Please, milady. The hope is killing me." He put his hands together and tried to make his eyes as wide as possible, hoping to pull on her heart. From her face, he could see that it was working.

"Chat, we can't." She said, almost as if she was in pain.

"Fine." he snapped, standing up. "Then tell that guy how you feel."

"Excuse me?" she asked, still sitting, looking up at him in shock.

"If you care anything about my feelings, please just go and tell Mr-better-than-Chat how you feel! It's not fair milady. I can't know who you are, but there's some mystery guy that could be me? Do you _know _how hard that is to live with every day?"

He felt bad for hurting her like this, but he wasn't lying. He wasn't even faking the frustration in his voice. It was hard. It was hard seeing her every day and not being able to reach out to her. It was hard watching her stumble and mess up her words. Yes, it was cute, but at the end of the day it meant that she wouldn't talk to him. Wouldn't confess her feelings. And it was slowly killing him.

"You're right," she said slowly as she got to her feet as well. "It isn't fair. It's not fair to me either. And, really, it's not fair to him. I'll tell him, alright?"

Chat nodded slowly as he calmed down from his rant. Ladybug looked small and frightened at the prospect of confessing to Adrien, but he could tell she meant it. He pulled her into a hug, wishing he could just tell her here and now.

"It will be fine," he whispered to her. "He's a lucky guy and will be thrilled to hear how you feel about him."

He felt her arms wrap around him slowly and he savored the feeling, knowing that soon that this wouldn't be such a rare treat.

*****The Next Morning*****

"Uh...um...hi, A-adrien," he heard from behind as he put his backpack in his locker.

"You're here early, Marinette," he said without turning around. He finished getting out his school books and closed the door. Turning, he saw the shocked Marinette standing behind him.

"Yeah...I...um...actually, I couldn't early, so I sleep...no, I couldn't sleep, got here early..."

Adrien struggled to contain his laughter as he watched her spiral out of control. She desperately needed help.

"Marinette," he interrupted gently. "Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

Marinette froze and went silent as he stepped closer to her. Her eyes were full of panic and fear, but she didn't make an excuse to leave.

"A-adrien?" she asked in hardly more than a whisper.

"Yes, Marinette? I'm listening." He waited for her to speak again and almost thought she wouldn't, but she surprised him by closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"I just want to say that I think you're amazing...more than amazing...and you're really cold...COOL...I...I mean cool. Of course, I mean, cool, not cold. That's not cool. I mean..."

"Marinette," he said, laughing slightly. He leaned his head down towards her, touching his forehead to hers. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. He held her gaze and he continued. "Are you trying to tell me that you like me?"

The words hung between them and he couldn't tell exactly what she was thinking, but he started to worry she would faint.

"Uh...no...NO...I mean...I mean yes. I...I do like you Adrien." She managed to stammer.

"That's great!" he cried as he straightened his back, pulling away from her. "Because I like you too, Marinette. What do you say that we start dating?"

"Excuse me?" she asked, clearly in shock.

"Dating. I would ask you to the movies this Friday, but I actually have a photoshoot. I could probably get my father to let you come. After all, he's really taken to you. He liked that last batch of designs you did."

"Last...batch?" she asked. Adrien smiled as a small smile was starting to break out across her face.

"Yeah. The ones you posted on Instagram? He liked the one on the left best." he said with a wink.

"You...you showed him my designs?"

"Of course! I like you, Marinette. And I know you want to be a fashion designer so why wouldn't I show them to my father? It could help you make your dream a reality."

"Adrien, that's...that's so sweet!" Marinette whispered, her face turning beet red. Adrien reached out and pulled her into a hug, just like he had the night before, but this time felt different. She was hugging him with equal feeling, not the reserved hugs he got as Chat.

"So, is that a yes?" he asked, burying his face in her hair. "You'll go out with me?"

"I would love to," she answered with her face buried in his chest. He wanted to say something that would be a clue to who he was, but he held back. It was a tough secret to hold in, but he didn't want to rush things. Over time, he would leave her clues; confident that she would begin to see that he was two parts of the same whole. Just as he had seen about her. He held her tight, wanting to remember this moment forever. His lady had finally accepted him, even if she didn't quite know it yet.


End file.
